The Fate in the Music
by Emi-Lea Deschanel
Summary: "I'll flip a coin. Heads, you go to dinner with me tomorrow night." Temperance Brennan never believed in fate. What is it about Seeley Booth that changes that? AU, Booth/Brennan


This special little story is dedicated to vampirediva07, because she's awesome.

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever, owned Bones.

This is AU. Don't hate. It came to me for a roleplay and it sorta went on from there.

* * *

It was dark out, nighttime. It was just before eleven when he decided to go down to the bar. He couldn't sleep. The jet lag of returning to Washington D.C. from Japan was torturing him. The hotel bar wasn't as empty as he thought it would be. On the contrary, there were many people there, most paying attention to the performer. She was gorgeous in all honesty. She had a square shaped face, giving her a very distinctive jaw line, dark brown hair, and piercing pale blue eyes. Her smoky voice was filling the room with a smooth jazz song, but focus be damned, she saw him walk in the bar. He caught the way her eyes sparkled at him, but he did nothing. Instead, he went to the bar and ordered himself a whiskey on the rocks.

Seeley Booth took his time with his drink, not ready to go back to his hotel room and face another sleepless night. He was turned away from the pretty jazz singer, but he noticed when she stopped singing. Her set must have been over. He looked at his watch. Eleven thirty-two. He downed the rest of his whiskey and ordered himself another when he caught a glimmer of red satin out of the corner of his right eye.

"Could I get a water please, Hodgins?" It was her. Booth turned his head to look at her. She wasn't looking at him, but she turned her head when she realized she was being looked at. Her smile was sweet, and nothing like anything Booth had ever seen before. It was stronger the left side rather than the right. He liked it.

"You're an extremely talented singer," Booth said, placing some cash on the counter as the bartender known as Hodgins placed another whiskey in front of him. The brunette sat on the stool next to him.

"Thank you," she said, nodding to Hodgins. "I'm Temperance Brennan." She offered him a hand.

Booth took her hand, the polite greeting far too formal for him. "Seeley Booth. Hey Hodgens, get the lady a drink."

"Oh, you don't have to-"

"I insist."

Hodgins came over to them. "What's your poison, Brennan?"

"I'll have whatever he's having," she replied, nodding to Booth.

"Whiskey on the rocks it is then."

Booth looked at his glass, shaking it a little from side to side. "You always drink this hard after a show?" he asked before taking a sip of his drink.

"Not usually," Brennan replied. "But I do enjoy it when someone buys them for me."

Booth smiled. "How could I not?" he laughed slightly. "It's the nice thing to do." Brennan said nothing as Hodgins placed a glass of brown liquid in front of her. "I'd buy you dinner, if I could."

Brennan smiled at Booth. "Sorry, I don't date hotel guests." Booth nodded in understanding.

"Is that a hotel or personal rule?" he asked.

Brennan shrugged. "Personal, mostly. My dad doesn't really care who I date."

Her dad? Wait, this was _the _Temperance Brennan? Daughter of Max Keenan, the hotel owner? No kidding. That didn't bother Booth. "Tell you what," he started, pulling a quarter out of his pocket. "I'll flip a coin. Heads, you go to dinner with me tomorrow night."

Brennan raised an eyebrow. "And what if it's tails?"

"Tails, and I'll never bug you again."

Her smile was gorgeous. It made Booth feel like he was drunk, without the effects of the whiskey. "What makes you so confident I want to go out with you in the first place?" she asked. She certainly wasn't anything like anyone Booth had ever met before. He liked it. He liked her.

"Oh, come on. I saw the way you looked at me when I walked in. You were practically begging me to ask you out."

Brennan laughed. "That is completely anecdotal." She sipped her drink, leaving a ring of red lipstick on the glass. "And I don't gamble."

Booth shrugged. "That may be true, but just do it this once. If heads, one date, and we can take it from there." Brennan sighed, obviously giving in. Booth smiled and tossed the coin into the air. He caught it and opened his hand. "Heads. I'm taking you out tomorrow night."

Brennan shook her head, smiling. "Okay. Room sixteen fourteen. I'll be ready at seven."

"It's a date," Booth said, tapping his glass with hers.

* * *

She was ready. It was six fifty-five. Brennan stood in her bathroom, looking herself over, just to make sure she looked good. She looked perfect. Black dress, hair pulled back, gold dangly earrings. She felt good. She felt confident. But of course, she had some questions she kept asking herself.

Who was this Seeley Booth, and why did he make her feel all fuzzy inside? He was just a guy, a man she'd met after singing in the bar. She always sang in the bar on Thursdays. She had a routine. What brought Booth to the Pearl Grand to change that? Was it fate? She didn't believe in that.

What did it matter anyway? There was now a chance for sex. It had been a little while for Brennan. By choice. Between work, and studying anthropology, she just didn't have the time or will to entertain male company. But there was just something about Booth that attracted her. She felt like she knew him, without actually knowing him. Like they had a past they shared but had simply forgotten. She'd say past life, but Brennan didn't believe in that. Once you died, that was it.

A knock sounded at her door, and she turned off the light in the bathroom and looked through the peephole in her door. Booth was there, looking as dashing as he had the previous night. She opened the door and he held out a rose to her. Red, the same color as her dress last night. She took it, smiling, and took his arm. He led her to the elevators, through the lobby, and out of the hotel.

Brennan expected him to hail a cab, but he didn't. "The restaurant is just up this way." It was only a short walk. Brennan was enjoying the fresh air and the company anyway. When they arrived, Booth led her to a table in the corner. It wasn't a very fancy place, but that suited Brennan just fine. Frankly, she was sick of fancy.

Dinner came and went, and there conversation was relaxed. Brennan felt completely comfortable with him, and she could tell he felt the same with her. He could make her laugh, and she really enjoyed that. It had been a while since she was able to laugh like that. But unfortunately, the food was gone, and the night, or so she assumed, was nearing an end.

"I just have one more thing," Booth said, as they left the diner.

Brennan smiled her crooked smile at him, narrowing her eyes. What was he up to?

"Do you like dancing?"

Her smile widened. "I love dancing."

How it was that Temperance Brennan didn't know about this club across the street from the hotel was beyond her. It felt like she stepped into the sixties. Swing music was playing, live. Frank Sinatra covers from a man who could sing just as well.

A couple of upbeat dances had Brennan laughing and panting in Booth's arms, and him doing the same. A slower song was now being played, and many more couples joined on the dance floor, and Brennan placed one of her hands on Booth's shoulder as he held her by the waist and held her other hand. They glided slowly on the floor, not really saying much.

It was her who made the first move. She leaned forward and placed her lips gently on his. It was a soft kiss, just testing the water, but it quickly became more passionate as instinct took over.

Out of the club, back into the lobby, and into the elevators. The passion was too strong for either of them. Whatever it was that drew them together was not letting them go. Not that Brennan wanted to let go. The elevator dinged all too soon, and she led Booth down the hall, swiping the key to her hotel room through the lock.

Brennan never believed in fate, but maybe this time, she'd give it a try.

* * *

Woo! There was my first Bones fic, and totally AU. I hope it didn't suck too bad. R&R!


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